Help provide vital support for amputees in Gaza

My name is Aoife Herr and I am running the Féile 10k along with Mothers Against Genocide on behalf of the Palestinian charity the Bureij Association for the Rehabilitation of the Handicapped- B.A.R.H.

Between October and January, UNICEF estimated that around 1,000 children in Gaza have lost one or both their legs – equivalent to 10 children losing legs every day. Many of these amputations were performed without anaesthesia. Babies as young as one year old are being amputated - these are babies that have never learned to walk, and now they never will walk unaided.

The targeting of hospitals, medical centres and aid workers means that these most vulnerable of children are left with almost no follow care or rehabilitation.

The scope of B.A.R.H's work is extremely broad – providing specialised equipment (wheelchairs, etc.), training for children and adults, food aid, and psychosocial support via accessible recreational activities to some of Gaza’s most vulnerable communities. Al Bureij is a trusted organization that has worked in partnership with USAID, Mercy Corps, and UNRWA.

Jenny Boylan and Clare Holohan (her father Niall Holohan was a previous Irish Representative to the Palestinian Authority) are 2 Irish human rights activists who are involved with Al Bureiji. They both know Palestine well from living and working there on the ground, they advised Mothers Against Genocide to support local organisations like Al Bureij as they are best able to understand the needs and can gauge appropriate responses for their communities.

Mothers Against Genocide was established in October 2023 by a group of women that were horrified by the genocide and brutality in Palestine. Our aim is to raise awareness on the plight of the Palestinian people, we have also pledged to raise funds for the Palestinian people as they endure so much pain. We are committed to doing our upmost to make sure that the people of Palestine are not forgotten.